iOS App Economics 2026

Apple's Small Business Program changes the math. Here's what an AI iOS app actually earns.

15%

Small Biz Cut

30%

Standard Cut

$1M

Cap for Small Biz

$99/yr

Apple Dev Program

Apple's fees — what most indies miss

FREE 15% MARGIN

Small Business Program

15% commission on ALL sales if you earn under $1M/year. Almost every indie qualifies. You have to opt in — many forget.

Subscription mechanics

30% first year, 15% after year-one renewal. Annual subs lock in the cheaper rate sooner.

Per-user AI cost (Claude Sonnet)

Casual

~4 calls/mo
$0.05/mo

Engaged

~20 calls/mo
$0.25-$0.50

Power user

~100 calls/mo
$1-$3

DANGER

No rate limits

Abusive user
$10-$50/mo

Pro Tip

Mix models on the backend. Haiku for routine, Sonnet for harder. Aggressive prompt caching = 70-90% input-cost cut. Rate-limit free tiers.

Hidden Costs

App review delays (1-2 weeks). Rejection cycles (budget 1-2). Refunds (0.5-2% of paid). Support time (1-3 hrs/wk per 1K paid users).

Worked: RDR2 v1.2 freemium

Optimization levers